Judge orders polar bear decision by May 15

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration must decide
by May 15 whether polar bears in the United States should be
listed as threatened by climate change under the Endangered
Species Act, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, barring further
delay.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland, California,
ruled in favor of the plaintiffs -- the Natural Resources
Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and
Greenpeace -- finding the U.S. government broke the law by
missing the deadline for a polar bear decision by four months.

The Interior Department, which has responsibility for
endangered species, was supposed to issue a decision in January
but postponed that for a month. Most recently, it asked for a
delay until June 30 so its lawyers could finish reviewing and
revising the decision.

Wilken denied this request.

"Defendants offer no specific facts that would justify the
existing delay, much less further delay," she said.

"To allow defendants more time would violate the mandated
listing deadlines under the ESA (Endangered Species Act) and
congressional intent that time is of the essence in listing
threatened species."

The government must decide whether to classify polar bears
living in Alaska as threatened, meaning they might face a risk
of extinction in the future. If it does, then it must develop a
plan to stave off the threat, a complicated process that could
take years. The action would not affect polar bears living in
other Arctic countries, such as Russia or Canada.

Environmental groups have pressed the U.S. government to
decide on the polar bears' fate, arguing that the disappearance
of their icy habitat due to global warming threatens their
existence.
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